logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2025
13m 23s

How to pull the emergency brake on globa...

TED
About this episode

Landfills across African cities are catching fire and releasing methane, an invisible greenhouse gas with more short-term warming potential than CO2. Sustainable strategist Mohamed A. Sultan reveals how local communities are turning this crisis into opportunity, diverting hundreds of tons of waste from landfills and helping thousands of farmers adopt more sustainable techniques. Learn why cutting methane emissions is a win-win opportunity to drive down global temperatures while also creating more livable cities. (This ambitious idea is part of The Audacious Project, TED’s initiative to inspire and fund global change.)



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Yesterday
How to turn setbacks into success | Amy Shoenthal
Success rarely happens in a straight line, with setbacks all but guaranteed along the way. What's the best way to recover? Leadership coach Amy Shoenthal lays out the four phases of the "setback cycle" and explains how to transform difficult moments into opportunities for reinven ... Show More
20m 2s
Sep 12
Why is it so hard for men to open up? A journalist and an entrepreneur answer | Joshua Johnson and Blake Mycoskie
Is conversation a lost art, or is it just evolving? Journalist Joshua Johnson and social entrepreneur Blake Mycoskie answer questions on everything from the male loneliness crisis to what it actually takes to connect with others — and reveal two deceptively simple tips for going ... Show More
30m 6s
Sep 11
The gravity-defying future of manufacturing | Schendy Kernizan
3D printing promised to reinvent how we make things, but it's mostly stuck producing prototypes with a high level of waste. Designer and TED Fellow Schendy Kernizan found a different way — by printing objects directly into a tub of gel. He explains how this technique eliminates t ... Show More
26m 34s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2025
How to pull the emergency brake on global warming | Mohamed A. Sultan
Landfills across African cities are catching fire and releasing methane, an invisible greenhouse gas with more short-term warming potential than CO2. Sustainable strategist Mohamed A. Sultan reveals how local communities are turning this crisis into opportunity, diverting hundred ... Show More
13m 23s
Apr 2025
The best way to lower Earth’s temperature — fast | Daniel Zavala-Araiza
There's an invisible super-pollutant heating up the planet — but it's surprisingly easy to reduce, if we try. Revealing how methane contributes (way) more in the short term to global warming than carbon dioxide, chemical engineer Daniel Zavala-Araiza highlights the emerging techn ... Show More
10m 33s
Nov 2023
Meet methane, the invisible climate villain | Marcelo Mena
A landfill on fire doesn't only emit a horrid stench — it has devastating consequences for the environment, too. The culprit is methane, an often underestimated greenhouse gas produced in large part by food systems, organic waste and yes, cow burps. Biochemical engineer Marcelo M ... Show More
9m 32s
Jul 2024
The satellite helping slow climate change — right now | Millie Chu Baird
Meet MethaneSAT: the satellite circling Earth right now to track global emissions from methane: a highly potent, short-term greenhouse gas. Environmental advocate Millie Chu Baird details the heat-trapping side effects of a planet full of methane — and explains why understanding ... Show More
8m 50s
Oct 2024
Invisible Threats
Last March, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket into space from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. It carried more than 40 payloads on board, including a satellite called MethaneSAT, which was designed to track methane emissions around the globe. Cutting methane emissio ... Show More
35m 51s
Aug 2024
The unsung heroes putting climate solutions into practice | Aline Sousa
The improper handling of waste is the third largest source of methane emissions in the world, says Aline Sousa, but waste pickers like her help reduce this environmental impact. She dives into the monumental effort of the often-overlooked people making sure recyclables, compostab ... Show More
7m 57s
Nov 2021
TED Climate: A new perspective on the journey to net-zero | Amina J. Mohammed
Climate action can be a vehicle to deliver dignity, opportunity and equality for all. UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed invites us to reimagine what the journey to net-zero could look like if we invest in people's climate efforts while prioritizing the 17 Sustainable ... Show More
8m 26s
Nov 2020
TED Climate: The energy Africa needs to develop -- and fight climate change | Rose M. Mutiso
In this perspective-shifting talk, energy researcher Rose M. Mutiso makes the case for prioritizing Africa's needs with what's left of the world's carbon budget, to foster growth and equitably achieve a smaller global carbon footprint.For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/p ... Show More
7m 19s